


The Moments After: Shepards Final Battle

by Donkeyk18



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Comfort/Angst, F/F, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-13
Updated: 2014-10-13
Packaged: 2018-02-21 00:39:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2448914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Donkeyk18/pseuds/Donkeyk18
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set after the events of Mass Effect 3. Shepard survived the encounter with the Catalyst, Shepard is returned to the Earth's Surface, but she is in a bad condition. She manages to make radio contact with the Normandy. Is this goodbye or will the Normandy and its crew make it in time to save the Hero of the Galaxy?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Moments After: Shepards Final Battle

Shepard landed heavily with a low, reverberating thud. Just another organic pile of broken bones and missing limbs amidst the bodies of soldiers and debris of a war just won. The cloud of dust she raised on impact settled around her and, in a thick white film over her as she shifted on the gravel to turn herself face up towards the sky. She inhaled deeply, the smell of a burning world filled her lungs. All around her small fires cindered and smoked. There were few lights that flickered here and there but nothing more than to dimly light the already morbid scene. Her mind was numb, her body was numb. She knew she was on a street of London, but where - the question. Every piece of broken concrete, shattered glass and mangled steel looked the same and would give no quarter or clue as to her exact location.

Shepard blinked slowly, her right eye responded with a halfhearted effort, and her left eye didn’t respond at all - at some point during the battle it had been completely destroyed along with a substantial portion of her face. But she was still alive. Shepard shifted again, her body not responding like she wanted it to but still she managed to half prop herself a little higher against a nearby mound ofrubble. Her body awkwardly positioned, but her face turned mostly upward. Shepard looked down at herself…a feeling of sick and despondence forming in her gut.

The Specter turned her head slowly to the left. Her forearm was completely torn off, she looked down and found her left leg ominously absent from the hip along with her right foot and part of her right shin. Shepard inhaled deeply. A resounding truth, a bitter and painful realization weighing on her. Shepard inhaled deeply again, it was soothing breath, she wasn’t one to dwell, even now. She wasn’t in any great deal of pain, as she breathed she could feel the charred pieces of her armor that had been burned to her skin stretch and struggle to move with each breath but this was more uncomfortable than it was unbearable. Her missing limbs, broken bones and gushing lacerations didn’t hurt, she supposed her back was broken in one or more places numbing the nerves; and she considered that a win.

Shepard looked around her, as far as her good eye could twist and see. There was nothing but burning destruction. There were no people, no soldiers, and no reapers. The scene around her was eerie and desolate. Smog and floating cinders from the burning debris floated passed her, at times engulfing her in a shroud a thick black air. Broken and burnt out electrical cables sparked here and there, craters filled with water from burst water pipes and the engine of a tank continued to grind somewhere near the Commander, even the wind seem to move with a sense of mourning. Shepard reached up to her collar, perhaps her emergency homing beacon set to the Normandy frequency and radio was still intact. As she raised her right hand to her neck, her hand and forearm an unsightly mess. She mentally registered: 3 fingers, half of the index finger amputated, thumb intact and responding. She dug what was left of her finger into her collar and searched for a small lump that would be the switch. Shepard inhaled again, this time coughing as she exhaled, the taste of blood filling her mouth. She coughed again and spat out the coagulated red.

Shepard closed her eye, still searching for the button. A low peep emanated from her burned suit, a satisfying sound that signaled the beacons activation. Then came a low crackling and low pitched shower of sound that reminded Shepard of the white screen a television would get when it lost its signal. A blue light flashed over her crimson skin as the beacon transmitted. Shepard wasn’t too interested in the beacon, it was almost irrelevant, what she wanted was the radio…she wanted - no she needed to transmit a message…one last set of orders…one last…

 

“Shepard to the Normandy, Come in, Over”. Shepard spoke softly into the empty London street.

There was no response and the crackling continued.

“Shepard to the Normandy, Come in. Over.” Shepard repeated. But still there was nothing.

“Shepard to the Normandy, Normandy respond.” Shepard spoke a little louder. The white noise filled her ears, the universe at work against her yet again.

“Joker can you read me?” Shepard said calmly and waited.

Shepard leaned her head up away from her collar, towards the sky. For the first time in many, many years she felt alone. She looked into the black abyss above her, her eye searching for the light of a few stars, after all that is what she loved about space the most.

“Joker, come in?. . . EDI [She listened carefully]…Can you read me? …. Garrus?.... Liara? Anyone please respond”. Shepard pleaded towards the sky, her eye stills searching and if she were looking out for them floating above her somewhere.

Shepard breathed slowly, staying calm. She hoped her friends were safe. She wished with all her might that Liara was okay.

“…If anyone is receiving this message.” Shepard began. “This is Commander Katheryn Jane Shepard of the SSV Normandy SR-2 of the Systems Alliance Navy. The Reapers have been defeated, but at great cost to all races and species across the galaxy.” Shepard stopped as more blood gurgled into her throat causing her to choke and cough again.

“As a dying wish I ask that this message be passed on to the surviving members of my senior crew, their names and credentials a matter of public record and available on the Systems Alliance Personnel Archives.” Shepard paused, her right eye beginning to tear. She had always imagined her goodbye a little differently. Actually not to happen at all. She thought she would go quickly in the heat of battle. Yet now she is quite alone, fading away slowly instead of cashing it all in, in the blaze of adrenalin and chaos. She found this unearthly calm around her a little disturbing and very unfamiliar but at the same time peaceful and welcoming.

Shepard wasn’t sure what to say next. She wasn’t at all sentimental, but she also didn’t want the last thing she ever said to be so ………. unceremonious. Shepard partly regretted not having a chance to say everything she wanted the first time she died. She remembered the feeling of anxiety and loss as she suffocated in the cold clutches of space. An emotion she never wanted to experience again, but here she was – at a loss for words.

“As the CO of the Normandy I had the privilege to serve with some of the most outstanding officers this era has managed to produce. Without fail they – “  


“--Shepard! Shepard we hear you!” came Joker’s voice through the beacon. Shepard closed her eye, the tiny prayer that oscillated in her heartstrings had been answered.

“Joker!?” Shepard spoke sounding a little out of breath now. “You beautiful man you!” Shepard breathed into the mic.

“Shepard what’s your location we’ll come and get you!” Joker all but screamed through the comm.

“Say Joker, is Liara there?” Shepard spoke softly.

“Yea, Garrus is getting her from Medbay, the comms are down throughout the Normandy. EDI managed to get this one working. Shepard what’s your location?”

“Joker…[Shepard took a breath] you’re the best damn pilot this fleet as ever seen [Shepard took a breath]. Don’t let them decommission the Normandy, not for a long time; she has plenty of life in her. [Shepard took another breath] Keep her flying straight and true Jeff [Shepard paused, breathing two more times before she continued]. No matter what colors she bares as long as one of my crew pilot her she is a beacon of hope, for all” Shepard paused, her chest heaving slightly and her lungs burning as it became harder to breath.

“Shepard what is your location.” Came Jokers voice again. Everything that Shepard said tugged at some place within him, but he chose to ignore it. They could save her.

[“EDI run a scan for her beacon, find her!” Joker spoke in the background, but his voice still carrying through the frail link. Sensors are down Jeff, system reconfiguring sensors; this may take a few minutes]

“EDI, do me a favor would you please.” [Shepard took a breath]

“Yes Commander.” Came the cool synthetics voice.

“Keep Joker out of trouble would you.” [Shepard took a breath]

“I will do my best Commander, but he can be insatiable at times”

Shepard chuckled softly [Shepard took a breath], a dim smile spreading across her face.

[“EDI I need those sensors”]

“Shepard what is your location, what do you see around you” Joker asked again, a panic rising in his voice.

“Joker where’s Li–“ Shepard started before she was interrupted.

“SHEPARD!” Liara’s voice echoed through the comm. Shepard exhaled, relief washing over her.

[“Rerouting power to sensors now, no response. Primary sensors to badly damaged” EDI spoke. “Are the Long Range Scanners working?” Joker demanded. “Running a diagnostic now”]

[Shepard took a breath] “Liara you’re ok” Shepard whispered, the smile in her voice carrying through the comm.

“Shepard! Shepard you’re alive. You’re okay.” Liara answered, relief in her voice.

“Shepard what’s your location?” Joker spoke between Shepard and Liara.

Shepard breathed in deeply, her lungs wheezing loudly as she struggled for air.

“Liara, I never told you this. [Shepard took a breath] But from the moment I saw you. [Shepard took a breath] The first moment when you were on Therum [Shepard took a breath] stuck behind the force-field…” Shepard paused to take another breath. Her chest heaving a little more.

“Shepard it’s okay, you don’t have-“

“I saw you and I said wow [Shepard took a breath] I had never seen anything more beautiful in my life. I just said wow[Shepard took a breath]Liara I love you [Shepard took a breath] I have loved you from the first time I saw you [Shepard took a breathed through clenched teeth] I have [Shepard took a breath] I’m sorry it took me so long to save the galaxy [Shepard’s voice cracked as her lungs cramped]. In the process I forgot about us [Shepard shook her head] I… am truly sorry.” Shepard stopped as she looked away into the rubble, an inkling of regret growing in her.

“Shepard I love you. And nothing – Everything you’ve done, I’m so proud of you. I regret nothing. I am so glad you let me be a part of it. Shepard-“ Liara responded closing her eyes, tears welling in her, threating to burst through at any moment.  


[“Long range sensors available but only on limited frequencies” EDI’s voice sounded in the background. “Can we pick up the beacon?” Joker asked. “Negative. Attempting to reconfigure for vital signs. Target location, last known location of Commander Jane Shepard”. “Run the Scan!” He instructed, they would get a captain out of him yet]

 

Shepard’s chest rose and fell and she breathed again deeply.

“Everyone thought I was the hero Liara. But you know what the truth is. [Shepard took a breath] You saved me [Shepard took a breath] Everyday [Shepard took a breath] Every day I got to spend with you. You saved me Liara [Shepard took a breath] I’m just sorry I couldn’t do more.” Shepard said sullenly.

“Shepard?! What are you talking about? You’ve done more than anyone ever expected. You’ve done enough, Shepard, You have. You’ll see. It’s going to be okay” Liara’s voice hitched as she spoke, trying desperately to hold the tears back and keep her pain from traveling through the comm.

“Shepard! What’s your location, please disclose!” Joker shouted.

”Liara, is Garrus there?”

“I’m here Shepard” the Turian’s voice growled through the comm.

“Garrus, you’re a sucky sniper, but I need you to do something for me” [Shepard took a breath]  


“Better than you” Garrus joked. “What can I do Shepard.”

[Shepard took a breath] “Set your target on Tali and make a move already. This dexro-love you two got going on. Its special. Don’t lose it [Shepard took a breath] besides I hear Rannock is beautiful this time of year” [Shepard took a breath]

“Shepard I hardly think I should be taking love advice from you, but then again…you did bag yourself Liara” Garrus teased.

Shepard smiled. Garrus was like the big brother she never had. Their relationship was… well like a big brother to his sister and both loved each other for it.

[“Long range scans have identified one life source in the vicinity. Human. Vital signs are weak”. “Great stuff EDI. What’s the coordinates?”. “System is struggling. Too much debris Jeff”. “Dammit! Keep working”]

[Shepard took a breath] “You know it’s been 14 years, 14 long years.” Shepard said softly over her wheezing chest. Blood once again filling her mouth, but this time she didn’t have the strength to spit it out, thick, crimson liquid ran down the side of her mouth, spilling onto an already blood stained patch of dirt.

“What has?” Came Liara’s soft reply.

[Shepard took a breath] “Since I’ve seen my family. My brother would have been about 19 now. Just about to enlist I guess.”

A silence fell over the comm. No one really knew how to respond. Each person actively denying what this exchange really was. Shepard looked up to the sky, a tear escaping from her eye, down her cheek, she breathed deeply staying absolutely still and absolutely calm. [Shepard took a breath]

“Liara, are you there?” Shepard asked. She wasn’t afraid to die, she never was. Up until now she had nothing to leave behind. No, Shepard wasn’t afraid to die, she was afraid of leaving them behind because she knew what it was to be left behind. Shepard wasn’t afraid.

“Shepard I’m scared.” Liara conceded softly, pain edging in her voice.

“Don’t be Liara, I’m not” Shepard smiled towards the stars.

“Shepard, we…uh…I” Liara began, unsure of where she was going with this. She had so many things to say. But she didn’t know how. In the back of her mind she berated herself for not being able to pour her heart and soul out like she wanted, but somewhere in her, her thoughts and words stuck, unable to exit her body. Some psychological inability to accept what was happening.

[“The signal is coming from an area near the conduit”. “Can we get a more precise reading?”. “refining the search Jeff…South West of the conduit about 2 Kilometers”.]

“Shepard hold on we’re coming!” Joker crackled through the link.

“You see Liara, You and I are veterans at this.” Shepard said calmly, unfazed by joker.

                [“4 minutes to arrival Jeff”]

“Shepard I can’t, Shepard I can’t do this again. I can’t, I don’t want to. Please. I can’t, not again.”

“Liara…”

“No Shepard! NO! Please Jane, Please Goddess I beg you. I’m not ready. Not again Shepard. Please. Don’t leave me .You promised you were always coming back. You promised!” Liara began to weep. The tears streaming down her face as her voice became horse; she begged and pleaded through the comm.

“Liara, I…uh [Shepard took a breath]….I don’t think I’m making it back from this one.” Shepard gurgled gently into the mic.  


“You’re a liar Shepard! Why!? NO, Shepard. Please, Please, Please I’m not ready. Don’t do this Shepard. Don’t. I still need you. Please-I-still-need-you.” Liara sobbed.

Shepard swallowed hard.

“Liara promise me you’ll live, you’ll be a great mother someday [Shepard took a breath] Just don’t stop living okay.” [Shepard took a breath]  


                [“2 minutes, 10 seconds to arrival”]

“Shepard, together. Both of us. We will be together” Liara’s sentences became short words strung together. The most she could muster.

Shepard did not respond. A cold silence fell over the comm. Liara’s heart broke. This couldn’t be it. Liara, shook her head violently. Not yet, not yet she repeated in her head. They were so close.

“Shepard?! [Liara’s voice pitched], Jane?! Are you there?! [Liara paused for an answer] SHEPARD! WAIT JANE WAIT, WE ARE COMING. JUST HOLD ON. JANE!!!!” Liara had become frantic, her lips quivered as she screamed hysterically into the comm.

                [“JOKER, EDI DID WE LOOSE THE COMM” Liara demanded]

[“74 seconds. Vital signs are fading. We need to hurry Jeff.” EDI said in her calm sentinel voice “I know, I know. Garrus. Get Chakwas to the loading bay.”]

[“The comm is still functional Doctor. T’soni”]

“I’m here, [Shepard coughed] I’m here [Shepard took a breath] Liara it’s going to be okay” Shepard’s voice broke through.

“No Shepard, I need you to live Shepard. I need you to stay alive. Please, for me. I need you Shepard.”

Liara could make out the labored breathing of the commander through the comm. Intermittent wheezing and gurgling echoed faintly through the transmission. The commander didn’t have much time. But if she could just hold on a little longer, Liara reasoned with herself. They could help her. They could save her.

“Shepard, we are coming. Please hold on. Don’t go.” Liara begged again.

“…………….Okay Liara, I’m here. I’m waiting Liara”.

                [“Setting her down. EDI go help them”]

“Shepard we are here, hold on we’re coming for you!” Joker informed the commander through the comm.

The Normandy landed roughly on the uneven plane. The doors to the loading bay began to part, revealing to the waiting rescue team the endless destruction. Liara didn’t wait for the doors to open completely; in fact she barely waited long enough for them to open enough to allow her to squeeze through and out into the burning street. Liara stood a few paces away from the ship, her handheld scanner searching for the Commanders beacon. Liara looked about frantically, searching the smoke and haze. Where was Shepard? The scanner beeped once, settling on a location.

“There!”. Liara screamed and pointed. Immediately running in the direction the scanner suggested. She sprinted as fast as she could, the others behind her keeping pace. Liara came to a massive mound of rubble and stopped. She looked around, the scanner showed they were right on top of the beacon.

“SHEPARD!?” Liara called out. Garrus stood next to Liara, turning his head every which way looking for the commander.

“Over the rubble” Garrus said, moving up the mound.

The crew followed. Chakwas and EDI each carrying a medium sized bag of medical supplies. The team rushed to the summit, scrambling with their hands and feet to get up as quickly as they could. The comm system was down again, they had to find Shepard the old fashioned way. Liara was the first to reach the top. She stood for a moment and surveyed the ruins in front of her. Her eyes peeled for the tinniest blue light that would signal the commander’s location.

‘THERE’ Liara’s mind screamed out as she spotted the rhythmic flashing of a beacon at the bottom of the hill; the source an awkwardly angled body on the edge of a slab of broken concrete. Liara shimmied down, dislodging smaller grains and pieces of brick that rolled down the slope with her as she moved towards the light as quickly as she could. Garrus followed closely. Shepard couldn’t have been more than a hundred meters from Liara, a distance easily covered by the Asari in the past. Liara ran, she stretched her limbs out towards the Commander, she was coming. With every footstep she ran faster and harder yet the distance didn’t shorten, to Liara it felt as if it got longer. As if she were moving in slow motion, only her heart pounding the blood through her body moved in real time. Everything else slowed almost to a complete stop. Liara ran the distance dodging piles of smoldering debris, scattered lifeless bodies, some of whom had burned beyond recognition, others who weren’t lucky enough to be hit by the Reapers powerful beam were dismembered by the blast of a rocket or murdered by Husks. The armor of the dead lay still filled and motionless. The complete and utter devastation of the war only now hitting Liara with an indescribable force, but even so all she could focus on was Shepard’s form and the blinking blue beacon.

Liara dug her heels into the ground, propelling herself still forward. ‘Wait, Shepard I’m here! Wait!’ her soul screamed out to the commander. Liara watched the commander, her heart and body straining to be with her. She saw the Commander’s head bob, first up and down and then once more upwards leaving her face turned to the dark and smoggy sky. A sign of life to Liara.

“SHEPARD!” Liara screamed, her voice higher in pitch than usual and cracking as she screamed the Commander’s name.

As Liara neared Shepard’s body, she fell to her knees and slid the remaining few paces to Shepard’s side on the slightly raised mound, her arms outstretch to the soldier. Liara finally reached Shepard, the dust she raised stirred past the commander’s body and the gravel she disturbed with her knees crunching slightly under her weight and armor. Liara reached out to touch the commander, to put pressure on one of the wounds to slow the bleeding till Chakwas and the others she had left behind got there. Liara’s hands hovered over the Commander’s body, unsure of where first to touch if she should touch Shepard at all. Liara’s eyes moved swiftly over Shepard, if it was not for the beacon, Liara thought, they may not have recognized her at all. Shepard was in a bad state and Liara sat directly over her completely paralyzed by the extent of her lovers wounds.

Garrus was the first to arrive after Liara. However he didn’t pause. He nudged the Asari out the way and grabbed Shepard by the collar, pulling her off the rubble and onto a more level piece of ground. He turned and checked how far Doctor Chakwas was before bending his head close to the commanders mouth to listen for breathing. He could hear nothing. Garrus moved to take a piece of strap he had stored in a pocket in his armor which he used to tie off the blood flow through Shepard’s dismembered arm, he handed Liara a piece to do the same with Shepard’s leg. Doctor Chakwas arrived with EDI and the medic kits. She wasn’t as agile and as quick as she once was, but the years of experience in the field showed on Doctor Chakwas demeanor. She remained calm and assessed the situation. She kneeled down across from Garrus. Doctor Chakwas reached into her bag and retrieved a field-vitals-reader. She held the small node for a moment, surveying the patient’s body, trying to ascertain the best available location for its placement. She finally settled on the small areas behind the Commander’s right ear. She then moved to assess the bullet wound in Shepard chest while she waited for the data to be transmitted to an accompanying data pad. The 3 crew members spoke over each other, Garrus and EDI giving feedback to the Doctor and the Doctor proving instructions to the crew. Liara sat motionless, watching the event unfold with a blank look of disbelief.

“Garrus, you will need to perform a field tracheostomy. Her lungs are filled with blood. Go to the right, her left lung has collapsed” Doctor Chakwas instructed. She had been informed of the commander’s condition by Garrus on her way to the loading bay. Garrus didn’t hesitate, he reached over the soldier’s body and retrieved what he need from the bag next to EDI.

“25cc adrenaline EDI” Doctor Chakwas instructed as she slammed her elbow hard into the commander’s chest trying to break the armor in order to perform CPR. Doctor Chakwas repeated the motion two more times before they heard a spine chilling crack! The armor split. By this time EDI had moved around the Doctor and injected the Commander in the neck with the serum, then returned to her original position cauterizing the Commanders severed limbs.

Doctor Chakwas dug her hand in to the hole in Shepard’s armor, pulling the burnt chest plate away with an agonizing tearing sound from the specters chest to reveal a gaping wound. As she moved the cover hot red blood spewed from the puncture, spilling over the Commander’s torso.

“EDI gauze, we need to pack this” the doctor instructed, prompting EDI to hand the Gel-pack to Liara who would need to continue cauterizing the arteries and veins of Shepard’s missing leg and foot.

Doctor Chakwas stuffed a large piece of gauze into Shepard’s chest cavity, pressing down hard to clog the hole. As she pressed Shepard’s body squelched and a puddle of red formed under her.

“Turn her over!” Chakwas instructed, her steely resolve buckling slightly in the form of a crease between her eyebrows. Garrus and EDI assisted, for the first time Garrus saw a look on Doctor Chakwas face that he had never seen before. It was a look of sheer terror. Shepard’s armor had completely collapsed and pierced the specter in four different places. The metal was completely embedded into the flesh of the specter. Blood gushed from the lacerations, in addition to this, the exit wound the bullet fired by the illusive man had left was a gapping whole that oozed and spilled the precious red. The good doctor assessed the wounds, she knew there was no way to proceed.

The data pad beside Doctor Chakwas began to beep. Once, twice, three times. It was rhythmic and constant, signaling the data had been received from the node. Liara looked up at the Doctor to see her reaction. Doctor Chakwas turned to the data pad and read it first quickly her eyes darting over the data and then slowly. She pressed a few commands and the beeping stopped.

Commander Shepard was dead.

Liara stood up away from Shepard, panting - her eyes wide and brimming with salty tears. "What is it" She quivered.

Doctor Chakwas didn’t respond. She looked slowly from the datapad to the Asari and then to the fallen commander and shook her head. Her iron expression replaced with defeat. Doctor Chakwas relieved EDI and Garrus, guiding them to return the Commanders body to her original resting position. She gave no further instructions and made no movement to continue the operation. The damage was to sever to repair, the life form too tethered and far gone to bring back, not even with all the medicine and techniques in the galaxy.

 

None of the 4 crew members moved, they barely breathed as the reality filtered through their brains. Liara sat on her knees, her body beginning to shake as her hands moved to bury her face. Her mouth stayed open in disbelief but no air went in. It was a few moments before the reality had fully sunk in.

Garrus was the first to move, he fell slowly back from his haunches into a sitting position. His hands out stretched in front of him and his head hung low to his chest. Red glistened from his fingertips, the mark of his efforts. Next was Doctor Chakwas, she gathered a few items that had fallen from her bag and returned them to their place before standing slowly and turned to put some distance between her and her patient. She stood with her hands folded across her chest her mind buzzing, running through ever medical scenario she knew so well…the product at the end of each algorithm the same. Liara moved cautiously around Shepard’s body to her head. She knelt down beside her and placed a hand on the commander’s forehead, moving aside a few stray strands of hair. Time was moving slowly for her again, her world was completely silent save for the sounds of her heart shattering into a thousand tiny pieces. The pain of which was expressed physically and Liara’s eyes pushed out every iota of pain she felt in a ceaseless stream of salty tears that dripped from her chin and nose.

A sound of moving gravel and dirt came from the direction of the Normandy. Garrus looked up to see Joker making his way down the mound they crossed minutes before, rushing with all his might to the Commander’s aid. EDI who had remained at her station stood and went to assist Joker down the hill.

“Am I too late?” Joker asked through the mist.

Joker received no response, he looked from the doctor to Shepard.

“Shit.” Joker said softly, more to himself but every one heard and honestly they felt largely the same although that may not have been their chosen word.

Doctor Karin Chakwas turned from her moment of silence to the Commander’s body. Liara hadn’t moved and her body continued to convulse as she sobbed. Garrus looked up the Doctor, a little uncertain as to how to proceed next, very unwilling to. A part of him believing if he didn’t move then none of this would be real, they would have a chance to turn back time and save his best friend. There were more rustling and footsteps from the mound between them and the Normandy, Garrus, Doctor Chakwas and Liara who barely managed to lift her red burning eyes upwards away from Shepard to see the remaining Normandy crew, some armed but all battered and bruised as they were, summit the mound of rubble, willing and able to assist in a now needless effort.

“EDI, Garrus. Would you be so kind as to place our fallen leader on a stretcher and cover her with the colors? Everything you need is in the case EDI brought. We will need to transport Shepard back to the Normandy”. Garrus and EDI didn’t respond with any verbal acknowledgement, but they moved swiftly to complete the Doctors instructions.

Doctor Chakwas turned back towards the group and stepped with a cautious and thoughtful purpose to a space near Shepard’s body and stood with her hands behind her, upright and stiff backed in line with the hero’s head.

“EDI, please enter the following into the Ship’s official log and ensure that this message is transmitted as far as you can send it.” Dr Chakwas spoke slowly and looked straight ahead.

Doctor Chakwas took a slow and steadying breath before she began.

“This is Doctor Karin Chakwas the Chief Medical Officer of the Systems Alliance SSV Normandy SR2. At the age of 34 Commander Katheryn Jane Shepard, acting CO of the Normandy has died in the field (Doctor Chakwas voice hitched and she took a breath before continuing), having succumb to her injuries incurred during the final assault against the Reapers on this day 6 September 2187 at 04:51 Central Earth Time. Attention to orders. It is with a profound sadness that I act to honorably discharge Commander Katheryn Jane Shepard N7 First Class, Company A, Second Battalion, 27th Inventory, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, Infantry division 1 from active service of the Systems Alliance Navy ……… indefinitely, [Doctor Chakwas face tensed like that of a person trying desperately to maintain their concentration and emotional resolve] thereby instating myself the Commanding Officer of the SSV Normandy SR2, until such a time as the vessel, its crew and its contents can be surrender to the Systems Alliance Administration for reassignment [she swallowed hard]…………………………..Humanity in time will hail our defeat of the Reapers as a magmatic testament to our strength, resolve and unwillingness to surrender, all to quickly misplacing and forgetting the catastrophic cost this victory was achieved with. Commander Shepard would not have appreciated a lengthy and winded eulogy to celebrate her life, but it would be altogether impossible to not mourn her passing along with the countless others who stood against the greatest threat the galaxy had ever faced. We bid a strained farewell to the greatest hero this galaxy has ever known.” For the first time since she began, Doctor Chakwas blinked and waited before opening her eyes again, no doubt taking a second to recompose herself. She bowed her head and her shoulder rose and fell as she inhaled deeply. She opened her eyes again this time they were glazed as tears brimmed on her lower eyelids. Her breathing still labored, the mini-procession had to continue.

“Atten-HUT!” Lieutenant Jeff Moreau called out to the small gathering. The group of soldiers, ensigns, engineers, aliens and Doctor Chakwas and EDI snapped to attention. Their hands raised to their heads they stood in prose. The mourning wind blew gently, smog and burning cinders floated through the air. Time slowed almost to a complete stop, the world had retained its silence, an all-consuming silence. Disbelief in the hearts and minds of all those in attendance slowly transformed into sadness and acceptance.

Liara had stopped crying, for now she sat stationary, her eyes bloodshot and almost completely unaware of what was happening around her. She looked at the commander contented that she had the chance to say goodbye although not in so many words. Liara slowly stroked Shepard forehead, the same calmness and serenity on the dead hero’s face washing over the asari. The finality of the event that was Commander Jane Shepard’s death largely incomplete but drawing quickly to a close. Liara bent low and kissed Shepard softly on the forehead before looking up and locking eyes with those in attendance. She stood slowly, her heart pained. The only women she had ever loved was dead, the truth etched in her soul…but Liara knew….there was still work to be done.

FIN

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Give it a thumbs up if you enjoyed it. If not I would love some feedback. Let me know how you thought it should end. Any requests or suggestions, I would love to hear from.


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